Alpha said he was leaving because he didn't want to put anyone at risk if his original personality emerged. That was partly true. There was always the chance of something unexpected happening when dealing with imprints and active architecture. There was another reason for his departure, however. Call it paying a debt, giving a friend a present, atonement...the voices in Alpha's head contributed a number of descriptions.
The lab he'd chosen was abandoned; destroyed, really, but that didn't matter. He was a genius. Several geniuses, in fact.
Echo remained at the Dollhouse as the world reestablished itself. People drifted in and out. Some needed care and help after exposure to the imprint tech. Some people came to make sure Echo was alive. They knew she wasn't alright.
Nurse Jane was making her rounds. She opened yet another pod to check on its occupant. She looked inside and screamed.
"Sorry. It was meant to be a good surprise," Alpha said as he climbed out. He looked at his friend closely. "Is Echo in there?" he asked.
Jane nodded. "She doesn't come out very often anymore."
"I have another surprise for her," Alpha said gently.
Echo put Jane away and looked at Alpha impassively. "Okay."
Alpha led Echo through the house to an office. "Wait here," he instructed.
Echo nodded and sat down, a tiny flicker of excitement building up. Nobody had surprised her in a long time. She looked toward the door as she heard footsteps approaching. She could see the outline of a man through the translucent glass. It wasn't Alpha. Echo caught her breath as the shape triggered a painful memory.
She was still looking down when the door opened and the footsteps stopped in front of her. "Surprise," a familiar voice whispered.
Echo's head shot up in confusion. She couldn't have heard the voice she thought she had heard.
Paul Ballard stood before her, smiling his special smile.
Echo stood slowly. She looked into Paul's eyes and suddenly slapped his face. "That's for getting shot in the head." Paul was stunned and rubbed his cheek, looking at her resentfully. Echo took a step closer. "And this is something I should have done a long time ago." She stood up on her tiptoes, wrapped her arms around Paul's neck, and dragged his head down for a kiss.
A/N: Let's just say I'm not okay with Paul's death. What you may need to be made clear: Alpha leaves the Dollhouse before Topher's imprint reversal thing, but not so much because he's afraid his serial killer side will come out but because he has plans. He finds and rebuilds a lab to clone Paul and instead of leaving Echo a wedge with Paul's personality, he uses it to imprint Paul with Paul's personality and gives Echo a real Paul.